Stony Plain youth’s poem a finalist for national awards

Reid Cyre is presented with an award from Legion representatives Andrew Benkovich and Pat Hale during a ceremony at École Meridian Heights School in Stony Plain last week. His poem on PTSD was a finalist for national awards, but it did not win.
Photo by Evan J. Pretzer Reporter/Examiner

Grade 7 student Reid Cyre earned a chance at national honours due to a poem.

Royal Canadian Legion posts across Canada host an arts competition for Canadian youth every year. Kids from Grades 1 to 12 compete with their work and those who win receive a small prize locally before competing for hundreds of dollars worth of prizes at the higher levels. Cyre attends École Meridian Heights School in Stony Plain and wrote his recognized poem about post-traumatic stress this year.

He was not particularly artistic before the competition, but is excited by the honour of having his work judged at a national level and the pride of family and friends.

“I did it for school, but I am a little bit more interested in the arts now,” he said. “I am excited and I did not really expect this of myself and neither did others.”

The work is titled “PTSD” and touches on how the condition affects those living with it. Local Legion representative Andrew Benkovich said they receive a lot of work every year, but this piece affected those who judged the 2019 entries very deeply.

“The cadence of the poem was really well put together,” Benkovich said. “It hit home for the people who reviewed it and resonated with everyone who read it.”

Cyre’s work was the first Benkovich could recall from the area to go to nationals. Ultimately, it did not win alongside the 42 competitors who did, but mother Diann Cyre is still very proud of her son.

I am so impressed with this kid,” she said. “It is unbelievable. It is disappointing that he did not win, but it is very exciting that he managed to get that far.”